Three Dots and a Dash — Restaurant in Chicago

Legendary tiki bar with the best cocktails and service! If you love drinks, be sure to visit.

My wife and I visited here on a Tuesday night with no reservation and were able to sit at the bar since we came early enough, but about 15 minutes after our arrival the place packed out and there was a line for any seating.

So normally you probably would not notice this building since it's tucked into an otherwise unassuming alley behind the fire department. We were following Google maps and walked past the alley before realizing we missed it. Went back and sure enough, "is that a tiki mural?" We knew we had found it!

The bouncer was a nice bearded gentleman who briefly looked our IDs over before ushering us into the dark stairwell that descends to the bustling speakeasy.

All the tables were taken. I think if you know you want to go and stay for some time, an advance reservation is required. Since we were walk-ins I don't know what that process is like but I assume that if you want a weekend you will want to reserve far in advance. It is that busy.

Our bartender, another bearded gentleman with glasses, was very down to earth and made good conversation. You'll be talking over music and the din of the crowd. If loud spaces aren't your thing, then this probably won't be your place.

Now the drinks are expensive, but they are some of the best damned tiki drinks that you'll have. I started with the "Three dots and a dash", their signature drink. It's Morse code for victory, which is apt since it's a delicious, complex drink that's a real winner. I really liked the fresh pineapple garnish with 3 cherries (the aforementioned "Three dots and a dash"). Have a bite of pineapple with each sip. It's got a lot of loud, layered flavors that mingle in a very cheery way, like it's WWII victory namesake.

We also tried the "Pearl Diver" & "Trader Vic". The "Pearl Diver" was probably our overall favorite. It's very interesting and tastes (in the BEST WAY) like a freshly made egg nog. If you've ever had delicious fresh made egg nog, you'll know what I'm talking about. Anyways, it's a super-smooth drink with fruity high notes that, if you're unsure what to get, or ordinarily aren't a big drinker, I would highly recommend.

My personal favorite place in Chicago. I'll be...

The music was a bit odd. It's kind of a '70s and '80s disco. Sort of thing. Very strange. But not bad. I've encountered the same weird '80s vibe in restaurants in Reykjavik, Iceland. And I love Reykjavik. So no problems here!

The tiki decor is absolutely Top notch. From the time that you enter the alley, to the time that you head down the stairs past the wall of skulls, and enter the dark hallways that lead into a tiki Oasis, the atmosphere is amazing.

This is my second visit. They definitely rotate their cocktail menu. They stick to their own excellent adaptations of the tiki classics. Although you can also order off menu, and they can make pretty much any Tiki cocktail in the genre. They are all very good! My first time visiting I thought that the food was good but overpriced. I don't know if my perception has changed, or if they've changed the pricing, but I found the food very reasonable tonight.

This is a tiki bar, so the tiki drinks are where it really shines. First visit I started with the signature, Three Dots and a Dash, which was very good. Not amazing, but very good. Later in the evening I realized that they serve so many of them that they actually serve them out of a tap. They are batched. But the quality does not seem to suffer terribly much. Second cocktail of the night was Tropical Itch. Great cocktail!v Finished the evening with a Pearl Diver. I spend a lot of time visiting Tiki bars, and this was easily the best pearl diver I have ever had. Surprisingly, it beat the hell out of the Pearl diver at Latitude 29 in New Orleans. It was thick, buttery, and sweet. Absolutely delicious.

If I had to pick a favorite for the evening, I think I would have to go with the tropical itch.

For my second visit, I had to start with the Pearl Diver. It's just too good to pass up. For my second cocktail I went off menu and ordered a Navy Grog. It was also exceptional.

Service was outstanding. Shout-out to Lily!

The bartenders were spot on. The drink garnishes were incredible.

I can't recommend this place highly...

Decided to try this Tiki themed bar on our visit to Chicago. We were out with friends, there were 5 of us, 3 men and 2 women. Once inside, we sat and looked at the menu. It is VERY dark inside this place, but fine. A server came and took our drink order and then one of the women went to the bathroom. She was gone a long time (about 10 min) and in that time the other woman in our group also went to the bathroom but did not see the first woman. No worries, we had just had dinner so maybe our first friend needed more time. Anyway, when the second woman came and sat back down, 2 men who worked for the bar came to our table and asked if we were with the first woman. We said yes and they said "Well we escorted her out. She had been "a little overserved" and we need to keep everyone in our bar safe so she is outside." We were shocked. Our friend had nothing to drink before coming to this bar and our drinks had not even been delivered to our table. We asked what she did to make them think she was drunk and they replied "We've been TRAINED to detect the signs of drunkeness so we KNOW she's been drinking before she arrived." Again, we were floored. Our friend is a professional, educated woman who dresses very smartly. The bar is so tiny, I could not imagine what she may have done to make them think she was drunk. Perhaps the bar was so dark she tripped or something? That was the only thing I could think could have happened. Anyway, I went outside the bar with these two "highly trained" guys and it was obvious our friend (who was angry but not acting out in any way) was just fine. Suddenly they were all apologetic. I still have no idea what she could have done to give them the impression of being utterly of control, they would not tell us specifically what they had observed, only that they were highly trained "experts" at this. Our drinks came, they comped us 50%. We drank and left immediately. Our vibe was totally destroyed. We...